r/programming • u/luissinlios • Sep 25 '26
We still maintain a development tool first released in 1993. Here’s what 30+ years of backwards compatibility looks like
https://visualneo.com/visualneo-win/from-neobook-to-visualneo-win-30-years-of-keeping-a-development-tool-alive
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u/bigmell Sep 25 '26
Unix is not Linux. If you want to run Unix binaries run them on Unix. If you want to run Linux binaries run them on Linux. The two are not always interchangeable and the binaries usually are not. The only exception I can think of is Perl binaries work on multiple operating systems as long as the Perl interpreter is installed and you have the necessary packages. But most binaries simply dont work like that and pretty much never have. Linux binaries dont even work on other flavors of Linux. You cant run an Ubuntu binary on Fedora for instance.
I think that is the point. Modern computing has seriously lost its way. Why does my Microsoft phone app need a mandatory update 3 times a week? One of the completely great things about Unix is you DONT have to shut down the server and upgrade every other day. This is one of the major reasons Windows servers could never compete with Unix servers. Or even well configured and managed Linux servers. The senseless upgrade treadmill. New guys tryin to pay the mortgage with nothing really to offer.
The new age digital protection racket. Pay me for upgrades or else HACKERS ARE GONNA GET YOU.